Sharon Lutheran Church and Cemetery was established by Lutherans who were a branch of the large German settlement of Wythe County. The first church here was built in 1821. The cemetery contains a significant number of boldly carved Germanic gravestones, documenting the artistry and rich folk culture of these settlers. The fifty to sixty surviving Germanic stones relate stylistically to those in early Lutheran cemeteries in both Wythe and Tazewell counties. These thick sandstone slabs are decorated on both sides, and make use of standard Germanic motifs such as eight-petaled flowers, hearts, vines, and abstract geometrical shapes. The present Sharon Lutheran Church was built ca. 1883 to replace the 1821 church and retains a little-altered Eastlake-style interior. Both this church and its predecessor were shared by the Lutherans with a Presbyterian congregation until 1911 when the latter group built its own structure.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia